Fishbourne takes our safeguarding responsibilities towards children and vulnerable adults very seriously.
If you have a concern about a child, or an adult, please contact our safeguarding officer Louisa Stodd on safeguarding@fishbournechurch.uk. Only the parish safeguarding officer has access to this email.
If you are that someone you know is at risk of, or is being abused, or presents a risk to others, please seek advice from a Safeguarding Adviser or if necessary report the matter to the Local Authority Social Care Services or the Police without delay
You can also contact the Diocesan Safeguarding team, led by Colin Perkins on 01273 425792 or safeguarding@chichester.anglican.org . You can find out more about Diocesan Safeguarding here: https://safeguarding.chichester.anglican.org
If you wish to speak to an independent advisor, you can contact Gemma Wordsworth on 01273 425692.
CHURCH POLICY
As a Church, we take our safeguarding responsibilities towards children and vulnerable adults very seriously and endeavour to ensure that all those within our congregation can be part of, and enjoy our services in a safe way.
We have a defined recruitment policy for recruiting any paid staff, and the many volunteers who are essential to the smooth running of our church activities.
On a regular basis we review the latest guidance issued by the relevant church and statutory agencies and implement their recommendations when required.
We use the Parish Dashboard to help us with our safeguarding compliance.
The members of the PCC are committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of all our members, recognising that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and implementing all the safeguarding policies and practise guidance issued by the House of Bishops.
We carefully select and train all those who work or volunteer in positions of trust on behalf of the Church, using the Disclosure and Barring Service, amongst other tools , to check the background of each person.
We do, and will respond, without delay, to every concern made, that a person for whom we have responsibility, may have been harmed. And we will co-operate fully with the statutory agencies during any investigation concerning a member of the Church community. We will seek to ensure that anyone for whom we have pastoral responsibility who has suffered abuse, is offered support that meets their needs.
The safeguarding policy, which can be viewed on the notice boards in both the church and the hall is reviewed annually.
We expect that all groups who hire the hall are aware of our safeguarding measures, and if they are responsible for young people or the vulnerable they must adhere to these guidelines. Or for those groups who have their own safeguarding policy, a copy of it is required to be kept in the Church Office.
Members of the PCC, and those who hold positions of responsibilities are expected to undertake the diocesan training on a regular basis.
Contacts For Statutory Agencies
You can also contact the following statutory agencies with any safeguarding concerns:
Children’s Services (this link takes you the relevant page in the ‘What Do I Do If?’ section of the Diocese of Chichester safeguarding website, which has links to the Children’s Services reporting pages for East and West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove – choose whichever applies to your parish).
Adult Services (this link takes you the relevant page in the ‘What Do I Do If?’ section of Diocese of Chichester safeguarding website, which has links to the Adult Services reporting pages for East and West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove – choose whichever applies to your parish).
Policies in Use at Fishbourne
Promoting a Safer Church
Responding to Safeguaring Allegations Policy